Utmost

Directions: Some words in the passage below have been highlighted. Select the best meaning for the corresponding word.

I am always amazed when I hear people saying that sport creates goodwill among nations, and that if only the common people of the world could meet one another at football or squash, they would have no inclination to meet on the battlefield. Even if one didn't know from concrete examples that international sporting contests lead to celebration of hatred, one could deduce it from general principles.

Nearly all the sports practiced nowadays are competitive. You play to win, and the game has little meaning unless you do your utmost to win. On the village green, where you pick up sides and no feeling of local patriotism is involved, it is possible to play simply for the fun of it and exercise, but as soon as the question of the prestige arises, as soon as you feel that you and some larger unit will be disgraced if you lose, the most savage combative instincts are aroused. Anyone who has played even in a school football match knows this.